Read More

Among the missing in Amatrice are believed to be six refugees from Afghanistan - two of which have been named as Sultana, 26, and Hahmed, 27 - three nuns and four elderly guests at a local boarding house.

A man carries a pram among damaged buildings (Image: Getty Images)

A bloodied survivor is seen covered in debris after being pulled from the rubble (Image: REUTERS)

Rescuers carry a man from the rubble after a strong Earthquake hit Amatrice on August 24, 2016 (Image: Getty)

Paramedics are also desperately trying to save six-year-old twin girls pulled from the rubble earlier.

Meanwhile tourists were reported to be trapped in the remains of the town's Hotel Roma - but it is not yet clear whether there are an British victims.

A hospital in the mountain town also had to be evacuated due to structural damage and was declared non-operational, but none of the patients were believed to be injured.

Read More

The mayor of Accumoli said a number of buildings had been badly damaged and he feared a family of four had died, adding that an "unquantifiable" number of people were also "certainly" buried under rubble.

A mum is seen comforting her children after the horrifying disaster in central Italy (Image: Getty)

"Four people are under the rubble, but they are not showing any sign of life. Two parents and two children."

Rescuers search for victims among the rubble of a house (Image: Getty)

A survivor is lucky to be alive after many victims are believe to have been crushed or suffocated by the rubble (Image: REUTERS)

The mayor of the small town of Amatrice said the area had suffered extensive damage.

"Half the town is gone," Sergio Pirozzi told RAI state television. "There are people under the rubble... There's been a landslide and a bridge might collapse.

"The aim now is to save as many lives as possible. There are voices under the rubble, we have to save the people there."

He added today: "Now that daylight has come, we see that the situation is even more dreadful than we feared with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life."

Victims and rescuers walk among the rubble of houses in Amatrice (Image: Getty)

A man is carried away after been rescued alive from the ruins (Image: REUTERS)

One eyewitness in Configno, outside Amatrice said: "It was a nightmare. We woke at 3.35 with furniture falling on the ground and walls that were swaying by a metre.

"We managed to leave home in a furious hurry, some people are still in their underpants in the street. We lit a fire in the piazza and went to get all the old people out of their homes."

Valerio, from Amatrice told RietiLife: "The old houses have all collapsed. The main street is a disaster. We left in a tractor, going out of the house semi-naked. Now we are trying to help people in the village."

Sarah Conrad, who works for YouTube in London and is visiting the Italian capital, said she was woken up in the early hours and also felt aftershocks.

She tweeted: "Pretty sure I was just woken up by an earthquake in Rome.

"I thought someone snuck into my hotel room & was jumping on the bed. Both scary!"

Paul O' Halloran, whose Twitter profile said he was in Rome said: "Just got woke up by an earthquake! Bed and window shutters moving!"

A woman is helped to leave her home (Image: Reuters)

Residents are helped after the earthquake in Amatrice (Image: Getty)

Toby Shaw, from Hampshire, tweeted: "I'm really hoping that I've just experienced an earthquake in Rome, otherwise I'm not sure I want to know what it was that shook the room."

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's spokesman said on Twitter that the government was in touch with the country's civil protection agency and following the situation closely.

Tommaso della Longa, a spokesman for the Red Cross, said a grim scene is emerging from Amatrice this morning.

He said: "The picture we got from our delegate in Amatrice are telling us a terrible story of a small city almost completely destroyed.

Rescuers search for victims in Amatrice (Image: Getty)

Residents are evacuated after the earthquake in the region of Umbria, at 3.36am (1.36am GMT). (Image: Getty)

"The situation is difficult at the moment.

"These areas are in central Italy and are in middle of mountains and valleys.

"There are small houses in the middle of the valley that are completely alone and they need help.

"It'll take some time to reach them."

The national emergency fund has promised 234 million euros in aid to earthquake-stricken towns and villages, the economy ministry said Wednesday.

Economy Undersecretary Paola De Micheli said in a statement: "We will stand by local institutions and citizens in the coming days both in the acute emergency phase and in the reconstruction to follow."

"We want residents in areas that are now under rubble to know that we have the resources and the experience to intervene, overcome the emergency, and make a fresh start.